A Small Missunderstanding
by xXHellfireRavenXx
Summary: "I needed both of you to help bring this man down. I didn't tell you because if you'd have been aware of each other's presence you would have blown the cover and refused to attack one another should the situation arise…" Reeve replied. "Were you going to tell me that before or after Vince shot me in the ass?" Yuffie growled irritably. Yuffentine Swearing/Adult Situations
1. Chapter 1

Has it really been a year or so since I wrote Baiting the Beast? Where has the time gone?

This one has been in the pipe-works for almost six months, I took down the old one shot and reworked is as I felt it good enough for a multi-chaptered story; I kept comparing it to my best story and thinking it wasn't good enough to match it. In the end I though sod it and decided to post it anyway. It's a little angstier than Beast but I've kept the element of humor I'm so comfortable with. This story however will start as a T but will be raised to an M quicker than my other one. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY PART OF FFVII OR RELATED INDICA, NO MONEY IS BEING MADE FROM THIS FAN FICTION.

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**Chapter** one

"_Don't you boys have better things to do than get up to no good these days?"_

The figure looked up briefly, peering out through the gap between her hood and the mask covering her nose and lower face. Two businessmen walked passed and glared at her disapprovingly, probably thinking _he_ was up to no good.

Had they taken the time to look closely at the cloaked face and were able to see under the disguise, it would be a dead giveaway to the fact she was a woman. Hunched forwards with her knees apart and arms crossed casually; her lean, toned figure and soft curves were hidden from view. Barely older than twenty, she was still quite on the small side; with a short upper body and long legs. Bright amber, intelligent and devious eyes, short onyx hair and exotic features completed the package. Had she not been raised entirely into a world of ninjas and martial arts, she could have been a model. She snorted in disgust at such a thought.

Yuffie Kisaragi was leaning against a nearby steel girder disguised in a hooded black sweatshirt, long, frayed jeans and grubby brown boots, complete with an untouched cigarette in her right hand; tying together her charade as a young trouble-maker, on the lookout for a rich businessman or woman to walk by on their own with their wallets and phones in easy reach.

But the unassuming public were not her targets on this night.

Behind her, the boulevard was completely devoid of people, perhaps a few drunks staggering off into the night after a few rounds of whiskey in the local bars, a few vehicles ambling passed with no purpose other than to get home as quickly as possible. A traffic light turned from red to green and someone in one of the cars lent on their horn, the noise blaring out into the cool evening air.

Yuffie had been born and raised in Wutai and up until the age of nine, she loved it there. It wasn't a village, yet it wasn't big enough to be called a town; simply a collection of spread out homes, little shops and restaurants all centered on the pagoda where her lazy father sat on his backside and barked out orders to his subjects. She'd got on well with her parents, her mother especially and life was peaceful for a while. Then her beloved country had descended into a civil war with a corrupt corporation and the once proud land was destroyed along with her beloved mother, the Empress of Wutai with it.

Nowadays she could be found as far away from that place as she could. As far away from her father as she could, to be more specific.

Shaken from her reminiscing by a car horn in the distance, she watched the two businessmen walking across the road at the traffic lights and round the corner in the direction of the east district of town, when her target finally appeared.

He was a short fat man with no hair, disgusting grey teeth and dressed like every criminal in Edge. He had business to attend to of fleecing everyday innocent people out of their hard earned money and scum like him and all his other criminal buddies made her skin prickle with anger.

Not that she could talk really; her own past was far from laudable. But, it was as her boss had said, the best way to catch a thief; is to send a thief.

Her target stopped momentarily, looking down at his watch and glancing around the boulevard before he took another step. He raised a grubby hand and reached into his pocket for a cigar, lit it and looked at his watch again.

Was he waiting for someone?

Yuffie stepped away from the wall and followed silently at a distance as he sighed and walked off, but she hadn't taken more than a couple of steps before another, younger man stepped out of the shadows in front of the target, blocking his path.

"Are you Becker?"

Shit. Yuffie panicked. There was nothing in the plan about a second target or any meeting. She hid quickly in a shop doorway to avoid being spotted.

"Who's asking?" the fat man asked.

"I'm Rickman." Was all the other man spoke, his voice was smooth and deep and it suited him.

"I thought you weren't coming." Becker asked.

'Rickman' stepped half out of the shadows. He was tall and built with short dull blond hair, pale skin and almost luminous blue eyes. He was dressed in expensive black slacks, a high collared grey shirt and a leather jacket. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties and he'd be pretty good looking if he didn't look like his face was frozen in a permanent scowl. There was a hint of something familiar in his thin nose and jawline, but she couldn't quite place it.

"I got held up."

Becker said nothing.

"You weren't backing out on our deal were you?"

"I thought you weren't coming…" Becker repeated again. This Rickman guy clearly terrified him. He was shaking.

'_Wimp.'_ Yuffie snickered to herself.

"Let's go then." Becker spoke again when Rickman stayed silent. "I've got the goods waiting to be shipped out tonight from a warehouse just outside town."

"What's the sudden hurry?"

"I want this damn shipment out of the country before I have those fucking W.R.O dogs on my back."

Rickman grunted in amusement. It was obvious to Yuffie that this Becker guy wasn't the criminal mastermind behind this operation, but any target with information to give would help bring the real head honcho to justice. Yuffie found it amusing that a company that had started out to help renew and repair the damage caused to the planet had evolved a division that tackled crime fighting as well. She felt like a superhero. All she needed was a skin tight neon cat suit complete with a mask and matching cape and she was good to go.

'Super Yuffie' to the rescue!

She was startled out of her little fantasy when she saw that Becker and his silent buddy Rickman – _who had a pretty fabulous ass_ – she noticed with a grin, has started on their way and were nearly out of sight until she caught up to a safe distance behind them. Darkness had descended pretty quickly once they left the safety of the boulevard. It was starting to rain and as they reached the industrial zone of town, the street lamps had ended.

Her insides were screaming at her to turn around and go home, that _two_ targets weren't part of the plan and she had no idea if the men were armed and dangerous. Yuffie saw the fat old man as no threat, but something screamed trouble about the taller man. Not that she wasn't armed herself, underneath the baggy top and jeans, she had on her black ninja uniform, with shuriken and kunai hidden everywhere. But she couldn't be too sure, both the men could be fully armed with guns and knives and certainly know how to use them. She'd learned a long time ago to not judge a book by its cover.

The warehouse was fenced off from the outside world, although it looked as though it had little security. There was nobody else in sight and the whole area seemed deserted.

Becker and Rickman chose that moment to look around and Yuffie was thankful she was hidden in the shadows. She hadn't been spotted, had she?

It wouldn't do much good to blow her cover now.

"Come on, round the side." Becker spoke to his companion.

As they unlocked the rusty old steel door to the building, it creaked and the two men disappeared inside quickly.

Damn. That ruled out the front door. She'd have to enter the warehouse from one of the upper windows. So, with all the grace and agility of her namesake, she ran quickly to the back of the building, leaped onto a steel pipe running up the side of the wall and climbed up to a row of dirty windows that she was thankfully thin enough to squeeze through. Reaching under the leg of her jeans to grab a sharp knife, she easily unlatched the window, opened it quickly and peeped inside to catch her bearings.

Inside, the warehouse was huge; a large concrete floor housed two large tracks for two cranes to run back and forth on, loading and unloading goods.

'_Illegal goods…'_ Yuffie thought to herself.

There was a steel grid walkway about twenty meters to her left that contained a metal staircase down to the ground, she hoisted herself through the window and closed it quietly, crouching on a steel beam that joined up the walls and the ceiling of the vast building. She could walk her way along the beam and jump the remaining few meters onto the staircase.

As she did so, Becker mumbled something and reached into his pocket. Yuffie stopped moving and watched as Rickman moved with a sudden burst of speed and pulled out a gun at the same time as Becker. Sensing it was time to fight; she quietly removed her disguise and placed them in a pile on the stairwell next to her.

With each weapon pointing at the prospective targets heads, Becker sneered.

"I knew I shouldn't have fuckin' trusted you."

"Is that why you had us followed from the tram station?" Rickman spoke in a loud, clear voice.

Yuffie's heart stopped beating for a moment as she realized that he'd been aware of her presence all along. But how? Did the man have superhuman senses or something?

"Followed? I had nobody following us!" Becker clearly had no idea what the other was talking about.

Moving as though made of water, Rickman ducked and landed a punch in Becker's stomach, rolling out of the way. To her horror, Rickman then turned his gun on her and sent three bullets flying, missing her by inches and straight into the steel behind her.

Swearing loudly, she unlatched Conformer and waited for it to grow bigger in her hand before she jumped from the stairwell and sent the large shuriken flying.

Rickman's eyes widened considerably and his thin lips dropped open in surprise. It narrowly avoided slicing off a portion of his face but did manage to chop of a good three inches of his fringe as he leaped out of the way. The man grunted as his left side made contact with the concrete floor.

She briefly noted with satisfaction the dark tendrils of hair drifting to the floor and somewhere in the back of her brain she noticed that Rickman guy had blond hair, not black.

Choosing to ignore her mind and with Conformer sticking out of the concrete four inches from his head, Yuffie rushed towards him, ready to attack, knives in either hand…

"Yuffie?" spoke Rickman suddenly, in a slightly hoarser voice.

Skidding to a complete halt barely a few feet from him, she gasped. She _knew_ that voice. She knew it anywhere…it was the only voice that could both make her insides quiver with delight and terrify the hell out of her at the same time. The question was, what the HELL was _he_ doing here?

"Vincent?" she was so shocked that the knives clattered to the floor. "You've got to be _fucking _kiddin' me!"

Ignoring the coarse language, the man in front of her got to his feet and reached a pale hand to pull the dull blonde hair away, letting very familiar raven black long hair cascade around his shoulders.

Oh it was definitely him alright; she ignored the joyful lurch of her stomach at the thought of his presence. But why the _hell_ was Vincent Valentine of all people standing in the middle of a warehouse, disguised as a criminal, shooting at her?

"Yuffie, well this is a surprise." He looked strange with blue contacts. It didn't look right. She was also tempted to laugh when she noticed there was a sizable chunk missing from the bottom of his long fringe. Perhaps her weapons had been a little more precise that she'd first thought, it went a long way to explain the black hair mixed in with the blond in a small clump on the floor below their feet.

"Don't pretend you're surprised to see me! What the _heck_ are you doing here?!" she stomped towards him and put one fist on her waist and used the other to prod him in the stomach. "You asshole, you tried to shoot me!" she barked at him.

Becker suddenly groaned beneath them and Yuffie was momentarily distracted, she growled angrily and punched him in the face, knocking him out completely; before turning back to Vincent.

"I _would_ like to inform you that I am to take this insignificant fool back to Reeve _alive_, Yuffie." Vincent murmured irritably as he watched the man's nose bleeding all over the front of his shirt. With a nudge of his foot, he pushed their captives head to the side so he wouldn't suffocate on the blood pooling around his airwaves.

"Would you rather my fist landed in your pretty face instead, Vince?" Yuffie prodded him in the chest again, drawing herself up to her full height to try and intimidate the man. "And what do you mean _you're_ to take him back to Reeve? This is my mission, I'm supposed to be tailing him and bringing him back to headquarters!"

Regarding the young and very annoyed ninja for a short moment thoughtfully, he sighed.

"It would seem we have been double booked…"

Looking thoroughly amused, Vincent pulled his phone out of a hidden pocket inside his leather jacket. Yuffie watched as he dialled a number and held the phone to his ear.

"Reeve…yes mission accomplished…but…it seems there's been a bit of a mix up…"

Snatching the phone away from the startled gunman's ear, she heard the smooth voice of Reeve Tuesti, commissioner of the W.R.O, and, her boss.

"…_what mix up?_"

"Is someone going to explain just what the hell is going on and why Vincent _freaking_ Valentine of all people –"

"…_Yuffie? Where is Vincent?_"

"Yes it's me, now what the hell is going on?" she growled into the phone, the gunman watched her with appraisal and a smirk so small anyone else would have missed it.

"_I needed both of you to help bring this man down. I didn't tell you because if you'd have been aware of each other's presence you would have blown the cover and refused to attack one another should the situation arise…"_

"Were you going to tell me that before or after Vince shot me in the ass?" Yuffie growled irritably, glaring at Vincent when he made a short note of amusement and raised an eyebrow at her.

"…_Did he really?"_

Letting out a growl of rage at the scattered laugh on the other end of the PHS, Yuffie tossed the phone back to Vincent, who caught it sharply and watched her pull Conformer out of the concrete and storm off towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Vincent called out, working hard to keep his eyes from trailing down her agreeable form as she sauntered off.

"Tubby over there is all yours." Yuffie snapped her head round to look at him. "I'm going to kill Reeve instead."

And with that, she raised her hand in a brief salute and disappeared into the night.

Xxxx

Had he ever been asked, Vincent Valentine would politely reply that he knew no more about the habits of Yuffie Kisaragi than a Chocobo knew the theory of quantum physics.

Which most people would presume was not much.

He would honestly say that he was a creature of habit and enjoyed his small comforts. Every morning, he awoke from his slumber exactly five minutes before his alarm, his right boot was always fastened before his left and he would have the exact same thing for breakfast; a toasted and buttered cinnamon bagel with a steaming cup of strong black coffee while he perused the daily paper. He would then retire to his room to change for the day and either read a book or join Cloud for training on the outskirts of the town. After a quick lunch he would usually be found avoiding small Wutain ninja with a knack for getting him into trouble.

Not that he didn't enjoy her company, on the contrary, over the past few years she had settled down somewhat and had matured gracefully; however she still had her moments.

Like recently for instance, Yuffie had taken it upon herself to follow him in the shadows; and when he asked her about it, she promptly replied, to his utter bewilderment that his fan club had paid her to investigate what flavour of shampoo he used to keep his hair so soft and shiny.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that questioned the truth of that statement, he merely took a deep calming breath and replied that all she had needed to do was ask.

He had privately taken great amusement when she informed him that to ask such a thing was boring and took the fun out of the task.

And now for another instance, he was sat quietly regarding the scene before him with one leg crossed over the other and his arms folded casually.

Reeve Tuesti's office was on the extravagant side of expensive. It was one of the few luxuries that the calm and collected man would allow himself when in fact most of his money was spent on the benefit of saving the planet and helping those who needed it.

Admiring the thick behemoth hide rug and the plush artwork on the walls aside, a quick sidelong glance with amused carmine eyes to his companions showed Reeve to be sitting behind his oak desk with his arms folded on the table, regarding the young ninja sitting to Vincent's right with a stern expression.

A quick gaze at the woman in question revealed her to be scowling at her boss dangerously.

It's was simple fact of life that for every positive force contained within the universe; there must exist something of equal negative force to counteract it. That's what most people believed, anyway.

So when the ninja had decided it was a good idea to extract revenge on the older man; it was always going to end in tears. Well not tears perhaps, but Vincent had a feeling that Yuffie wouldn't be getting off lightly for this one.

From the ninja's point of view, she'd been around long enough to believe that the universe secretly enjoyed watching her fall on her ass…honestly, the guy _had_ deserved it for setting Vincent and her up during the mission…it really wasn't her fault that Reeves screaming had woken the entire street at two in the morning…but seeing his face as white as a ghost had been completely worth it.

She really didn't understand what all the fuss was about to be honest, the video she had filmed of the entire thing was now the most viewed video on the whole of GaiaNet, over fifteen million hits in just two days! Imagine all the publicity it would bring to the W.R.O!

Okay, so she never wanted to entertain the thought of the man with no clothes on _ever_ again…

Reeve Tuesti slept butt naked…who knew?

Anyways, thanks to her little stunt with a cold bucket of slugs in the early hours, Yuffie was sitting in a large office chair, being berated by a rather irate fashion challenged gillionaire (with his clothes ON thankfully); who was threatening to dangle her head first from the top of the building. Some people were just entirely too ungrateful for their own good.

Vincent's opinion? Personally he thought the whole thing was genius…though he wouldn't be telling Yuffie that any time soon.

"It took the W.R.O nine months to secure the information we needed to bring that man to justice." Reeve sighed. "I'm just thankful we caught him before you decided it would be a splendid idea that my backside should go viral."

A snort of laughter escaped the ninja and even Vincent himself was having a difficult job of keeping a straight face.

"I fail to see how the two of you find this so amusing." A thick eyebrow was raised at the pair.

"But you're famous! Think of all the attention the organisation will be getting." Yuffie coughed out between spasms of laughter. "I can just see the headlines now…_'Support the W.R.O, don't be a bum!' _or _'Tuesti's cracking good time!'_"

The man looked horrified at the thought of reporters and newspaper articles bearing the legend and turned purple in the face. He seemed to have also forgotten how to breathe.

"You have embarrassed the man enough, Yuffie." Vincent cast a sly look across at her.

"Thank-"

"I believe we have subjected him enough to the _butt_ of our jokes."

Reeved paled.

"Nice…" Yuffie smirked, hopping off her chair and cocking a hip to the side; she crossed her arms. "I'd say we're about even now Reevey…" she then grinned at her favorite gunman.

"See ya later, Vincent."

And with a trademark salute, she was gone in a flash.

After a moments silence, Reeve sighed and glanced across at his friend. To his amusement, the gunman's eyes had trailed after the woman.

"It would seem you have your eyes on someone." The older man noted with interest.

Instead of fiercely denying such a revelation, the gunman merely gazed at his friend and sighed.

"Perhaps…"

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**Well how was it, boring, painful...rather spiffy, let me know!**

**xHellfireRavenx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow I wasn't expecting so many reviews for the first chapter, thanks for that! Anyhoo it's time for things to start heating up between our favorite ninja and gunman, be warned for smexiness (it will go up to an M rating next chapter) but for now enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Final Fantasy or related indica, no money is being made from this fiction.**

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**Chapter two**

_The little girl retreated in horror until her back pressed up against the cold stone of the cave that night. She had no memory of how she had gotten to be in the middle of the mountains, but she had been thankful to find clean, fresh water to quench her dry throat and a dry hidden corner to take shelter in from the horror outside._

_Harsh memories of broken and bloodied bodies littered her mind, tears streaming down her round cheeks as she huddled in her shelter, away from the fires and screams of terror that fluttered up from the valley below._

_The young ninja was only allowed a moment's reprieve as a deep growl shuddered through her bones and made her hair stand on end. Terrified eyes widened to find a sharp pair of teeth bared at her as she gazed at the large lion-type monster who had appeared out of nowhere and was currently deciding whether to have her for dinner or not. _

_Without taking her eyes away from the creature, her pale hands found a small, loose rock to her left and flung it desperately at the monster in a last ditch attempt at bravery. Only succeeding in making it angrier, the creature bared its fangs even wider and a sliver of drool dripped from its mouth onto the floor. A singe sharp talon swept forward to connect with the girl's left arm. Her agonizing scream of pain could be heard far into the night and as she lay cradling her bleeding arm, crying desperately against the harsh ground, the monster reared back for its final attack. _

_Several swipes of a weapon rang out into the night and she could feel herself being pulled to her feet by a mystery person. A cold compress was placed against her arm much to her relief as the beast was swiftly taken care of with three more swipes of metallic blades. Several voices argued with each other in anger, but she was in so much pain that she didn't bother to listen to what they were saying as she felt herself go dizzy from blood loss. _

_A gruff female voice spoke to her in as she was picked up in someone's arms and her battle with consciousness eventually ended when her senses dulled to a complete silence... _

Shooting upright in her bed with a gasp, Yuffie came to her senses as the throes of her nightmare slipped away. After a quiet moment to catch her breath she let go of the death grip her hands had on the thin sheets tangled around her lower body.

"Just a nightmare…" she whispered into the empty room in relief.

Wiping the thin sheen of sweat from her brow and untangling her legs from the covers, she slipped quietly from the bed and was ready to make her way to the bathroom when she heard a faint tapping on the bedroom door.

Mildly curious, Yuffie made her way across the room and opened it after a moment's pause. Her heart lurched in her throat pleasantly to find a deliciously rumpled looking Vincent Valentine leaning casually against her doorjamb with a fleeting look of concern across his face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked in a sleepy voice, evidently having just woken.

Dry mouthed at the image of the beautiful man in a thin black vest and black slacks with messy bed hair flung over to one side, she momentarily forgot why the two of them were standing at the entrance to her bedroom.

Vincent was still gazing at her intently when she realized she'd not answered him.

"I'm fine…just a nightmare." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Is…it something you wish to discuss?" he asked briefly.

Yuffie blinked, she was touched that he was offering to sit and listen while she rabbited on about a silly dream; but taking up his offer would mean inviting him into her room and that was a very _bad_ idea with him looking at her like that and wearing so little…

Oh _god_, her mind wandered briefly where she distinctly didn't want it to go right now and it wasn't long before her cheeks flushed rose. She swallowed hard as the gunman noticed the change in the air between them; his carmine eyes briefly flickered to her lips before returning to her own gaze.

"If you would prefer not to…I understand." He murmured softly.

If it were anyone else of her friends, Yuffie wouldn't think twice before inviting them in to her room, but this was the man she had spent the better part of five years being interested in and he certainly deserved more than being dragged into her room and jumped on like a wild animal. No matter how much the whore inside her brain very much enjoyed the idea of it.

She suspected that Vincent knew of her little obsession with him yet neither of them had ever given much more of a sign or glimpse of it, and she certainly didn't think she had the guts to be the one to make the first move. Ironic wasn't it? She was the greatest ninja in the world, had helped rid the world of Sephiroth, fought Kadaj and his brothers and beaten a psychotic mad scientist with an annoying of habit of not knowing how to stay dead; yet when it came to love she was a complete and utter mess.

She really wanted a vacation…

Tearing her eyes away from his, she sighed and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"It was nothing, Vince." She smiled at him quickly, hoping it would pacify him.

He was still holding her gaze for a long moment before he nodded slowly.

"I'll see you at breakfast, okay?"

And with that, the door was shut quietly in Vincent's face.

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Considering Yuffie's rather prominent knack for getting herself into some sort of trouble, what with the damage control that had followed her little revenge on Reeve Tuesti; Vincent would say that the ninja had gotten off rather lightly.

The situation had certainly tilted in her favor when applications to join the W.R.O and donations had started flooding in from hundreds of people (mostly women) who were among the millions who had now seen _everything_ there was to see about the man who ran the whole operation.

He had also been on the receiving end of some rather lewd letters and marriage proposals that had left him extremely pink in the face.

What's worse was that Yuffie had managed to steal some of them and had taken to reading them very loudly and in exaggerated voices to raucous laughter and catcalls in the staff canteen over lunch.

After a rather graphic rendition of what one bored housewife was intending to do the poor man with her rolling pin, Vincent had decided that enough was enough and burned the letters; causing the ninja to huff and mutter they were boring anyway.

Patience had always been his strong point, as he sat back in his office chair and tapped his pen a few times against the desktop.

Having been used to seeing the young woman so bouncy for lack of a better word, he was rather concerned to see her looking dazed and distracted that morning while making a start on breakfast for the two of them before work. Yuffie didn't have to be in today but had agreed to help Vincent with his mountain of paperwork for their next mission.

To cut a long story short; the two friends had decided shortly after the Deepground crisis that they both wanted to continue working for the W.R.O. They had pooled their resources to afford a spacious apartment on the outskirts of the city - close enough for Yuffie not to feel isolated (she thrived in the hustle and bustle of city life) and far enough away for him to get the peace he so longed for after being thrust into the forefront as the savior from Omega.

It was a modest two bedroom top floor apartment with a through lounge to a medium sized kitchen and floor to ceiling windows with a balcony leading out from the lounge. Simply furnished, it suited the two of them very well.

A small smile tugged at the edge of his lips as he conjured up the memory from this morning…

_Vincent it seemed was quietly flicking through the channels on the TV but in reality he was watching her carefully as she narrowly missed cracking open a couple of eggs onto the floor at her feet. His eyes flickered briefly back to the box and quickly back to the ninja as she hissed sharply and grabbed her hand._

_Getting up quickly and striding up behind her, he wrapped a hand over hers on the frying pan and boxed her in at the stove. Jumping out of her reverie, she turned her head to look at him and sighed. _

"_Sorry…I was a million miles away there." She chuckled and prised his hand from hers and shimmied out of his arms to fetch more eggs from the fridge. _

_His left hand shot out to grasp as hers and he pulled her back to him sharply, gently lifting her hand to survey the damage._

"_Perhaps making breakfast isn't the best idea when your mind is clearly elsewhere, Yuffie." He rubbed a thumb over the red skin of her fingers._

"…_I'm fine…Vincent." She murmured quietly, "I had a nightmare about when I lost my mother. I've been having them for a while…no biggie." _

_To say that the air between the two friends was palpable would have been a complete understatement. His eyes softened in understanding. _

"_How long is a while?"_

_As his hands rested gently on the bare skin at her hips, the tips of his fingers gently massaged the soft skin._

"_A couple of months…I think Nero's darkness did a number on me." She grinned softly._

_He was watching her reaction carefully as a shiver ran down her body, causing goose bumps to appear along the skin. A soft breath of air escaped her lips and she closed her eyes._

"_If my plight with Deepground has caused you lasting damage…" he whispered in concern, evidently blaming himself for her troubles._

"_Vince…" had he been anyone else he wouldn't have heard the whisper of his name, but as he did his crimson eyes darkened before drifting down to her parted lips. "I'll deal with it…you've done so much for me already…I'll speak to Reeve and see if he knows a way to help."_

_Gazing at her as she opened her eyes, he let a breath of air pass through his nose and let go of her by taking a step back._

"_Why won't you let me in?" _

Pulling himself briefly out of his thoughts, he sighed and thought of the time Yuffie had spent the past few months helping him to face the few remaining obstacles in his metaphorical path and helped him to set up for his new life; he'd opened up to her about his fears and concerns selflessly without sparing a thought to her own troubles. He privately admitted it was what had finally drawn him to her as more than a friend in the romantic sense. The ninja could sometimes be immature and outspoken but her heart was in exactly the right place. She thought of others before herself; well not any more…he wanted to return the favor.

Loosing himself in his thoughts again, his cheeks colored slightly at the thought of what had happened next…

_Their eyes met and both could feel the jolt of electricity that shot through them, Yuffie took a step towards him and lifted a hand to rest on his shoulder._

"_I…I don't trust myself around you." She admitted while her cheeks colored. "I…"_

"_Why don't you trust yourself?" he whispered. He knew she was referring to the obvious chemistry between them, but he wanted some form of conformation before he chose to act._

"_This!" she hissed urgently. "Thing we have between us…every time I'm near you I can't breathe properly! It's driving me insane but I'm completely addicted –" _

_He was on her within seconds, his lips captured hers in a bruising kiss; hot and needy his gauntlet tugged her hips roughly against his. A low mewl escaped the back of her throat and she snaked her arms around his shoulders as he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, granting him entrance. _

_Dee Dah Dee Dah Dah!_

_The two jumped apart quickly as Yuffie's PHS blared to life from the counter top behind Vincent. Ignoring her heavy breathing, she moved away from his clutches and pressed the answer button and raised the phone to her ear. _

"_H-hello?" she stammered, trying to ignore the smirk Vincent sent her way as he moved towards her again. Turning her back from him sharply so he couldn't grab her, she listened for the voice on the other end._

"_Yuffie it's me, are you busy?" came the grainy voice of her best friend Tifa, fellow member of Avalanche, and barmaid of Seventh Heaven and newly engaged to Cloud Strife._

_Oh shit…Yuffie thought desperately as she was quickly pinned against the worktop, Vincent behind her with his hands on her hips and his lips attached to her throat. She momentarily forgot what she was doing as the gunman worked his magic, clearly enjoying the situation he was placing her in._

"…_Yuffie, are you there?"_

"_Y-yeah…I'm here." Her voice came out scratchy with a squeak at the last syllable…not in the least bit suspicious…_

"_Oh good, I thought I'd dialed the wrong number for a moment. Listen I have a favor to ask you…"_

_As Tifa babbled on about something to do with Marlene and Denzel, Vincent removed his lips from her throat and breathed heavily into her ear._

"_Perhaps we should leave our activities for another time." His voice was as smooth as silk with a hint of the gravely tone she was so fond of. _

"…_So I thought next Tuesday, how about that?"_

_A groan left the back of her throat as he growled lowly and bit down on the flesh at her neck. _

"…_What on earth was that noise?" came Tifa's confused voice from her occupied ear. _

_Flushing beetroot as the gunman glided off to ready himself for work, Yuffie cleared her throat._

"_Uh…I burnt my hand."_

_Turning to look at the breakfast still sizzling in the pan on the stove, she glanced over at Vincent and raised an eyebrow._

"_You're not hungry anymore?"_

_Turning to look over his shoulder before he disappeared into his room, he raised an eyebrow._

"_I believe I've had my fill for this morning."_

_Blinking at him stupidly before forgetting about the call she still hadn't finished and switching her phone off, she huffed and folded her arms._

"_Cocky bastard."_

Back in his office, the gunman reveled in the knowledge that he finally had some solid proof that his feelings for the young ninja were at least in some part reciprocated; he felt highly disappointed that he had chickened out of taking his ministrations further during the woman's phone call to her older friend.

It wasn't as though the man didn't want things between them to progress further, but he'd much rather the two of them participating that it being entirely one sided.

Perhaps he would pay the kunoichi a visit after lunch…

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**Hehe sorry, how was it? Next update will be next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow I feel so loved :) Thanks everyone who's enjoying this. Please excuse me for posting this a little later than planned, I've had a very busy few weeks, two weddings an interview and working two jobs drains alot on my time. As I stated in the previous chapter, the rating has now gone up to an M, it's all pretty much smexy time so enjoy it!**

**DISCLAIMER: i don't own final fantasy or related indica.**

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**Chapter three**

She was strangely alluring standing there wet and cold, looking tiny and innocent as she dripped in their doorway. Onyx hair was stuck to her pale face and her teeth were chattering as a puddle of rainwater was beginning to gather on the wooden floor of their living room.

It appeared Yuffie had forgotten her key.

When she caught his amused gaze as he held the door open for her, she huffed and cocked a hand on her hip.

"Go on…say it." She accused haughtily. "I know you want to."

Chuckling lowly in his throat, Vincent made the short journey back to the sofa and his attention returned to the newspaper he had neatly folded on the coffee table before answering the door to the walking puddle.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Yuffie."

Much to her annoyance, he saw no need to conceal the smug smile that lingered on his face as he momentarily reached for the mug of coffee he had been enjoying before the ninja returned from gallivanting outside in the rain. She had been out shopping for the afternoon and had brushed off Vincent's suggestion that taking an umbrella would be advisable when the sky had been clear, blue and sunny at the time she left their apartment. Much to her chagrin, the man had been correct in his surmise. Fire flashed in her amber eyes and she flung off the saturated mac that Tifa had lent her on the way home after popping in for a quick hello and squelched her way towards the gunman. She inwardly winced hoping the torrential downpour outside hadn't ruined her favorite canvas sneakers and pulled the paper out of Vincent's hands.

"You're gonna say I told you so aren't you?" she snarled, leaning over him menacingly.

Vincent was forced to ignore the water dripping from her drenched hair onto his shirt and struggled to keep his eyes from tracing across the outline of her bra, which could clearly be seen beneath the curve of her top. Heat pooled in his abdomen and he cleared his dry throat.

"Actually I was about to offer to make a fresh pot of coffee." He murmured truthfully, his carmine eyes softening slightly.

The fire in her eyes quickly changed to a different kind, one which made her breathless and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Swallowing the lump in her throat quickly, she got to her feet and tried to stop the heat rising to her cheeks.

"I should go for a shower." she tried to sound alluring but winced as her voice came out scratchy and high pitched. "Coffee would be great."

Regarding her thoughtfully for a moment, he nodded slowly.

"Yes…I shall brew a fresh pot of coffee for us." He murmured.

Shooting him a quick smile of gratitude, she closed the short distance to her bedroom and closed the door quietly, sighing in relief at the thought of a hot shower.

Her bedroom was a decently sized, simply furnished room dominated by floor to ceiling windows and a Wutain style bed that had taken her months to find and cost at least three months of her wages. It had been worth it though; Yuffie hardly ever found the time to visit home; but it was nice to have a few things to remind her of her country.

Stripping off her sodden clothes, she stepped into the shower and could feel herself almost drifting off as she let the hot water sooth her aching muscles, making quick work of washing her hair and the feeling that cold rainwater left on the surface of the skin.

As much as she had enjoyed watching Vincent's reaction judging by the way he had been stealing a glimpse down her top, the sexy drowned rat look wasn't one she enjoyed working.

Her cheeks colored again when she imagined the beautiful gunman peeling off his wet shirt and watching as droplets of water ran down his chest to the waistband –

_Okay…not where she wanted her mind to go at this precise moment…_

Huffing quietly and shutting off the water, she shook her head and wrung the excess water from her shoulder length hair before grabbing a plain fluffy towel from the cupboard under the sink and wrapped it around herself, opening the door to the bedroom quietly to check the coast was clear.

She wasn't expecting Vincent to be sat in her room or anything, but after a rather embarrassing incident several years ago during the Sephiroth crisis; involving drunkenly stumbling into the wrong inn room after a shower in the communal bathroom wearing a ridiculously small towel, she quickly learned to double check the coast was clear before waltzing around in next to nothing.

Thankfully the only person alive who knew about said incident was currently across town running Seventh Heaven and had been sworn on pain of death to take it to her grave.

Although, now that she thought about it, perhaps in the right situation and with the right person…that incident would have turned to her favor.

Yuffie assessed her appearance in the wardrobe mirror and sighed.

Her hair had fallen into a messy lump on the side of her head and her skin was bright pink from the too hot shower; she felt about as seductive as a squashed frog. A sudden thought came to her and she quickly rummaged through the chest of drawers at the end of the bed, finding the shortest black shorts she could find and the thinnest camisole she owned and threw them on the bed.

Whipping off her towel, she threw it over her head and roughly dried her hair as best she could; giggling when she caught the frizzy mess in the mirror.

A silly smile lit up her face as she finger combed her hair and dressed quickly. Letting out a breath as she gave herself the once over, she opened her bedroom door and stepped into the kitchen.

It was payback time for Vincent.

In the kitchen, her victim was putting the finishing touches to a simple mug of coffee with cream when the ninja stepped back into the room; trying to test his patience by wearing a short black camisole and matching silk shorts with little slits in each leg.

His eyebrow rose in suspicion as she gave him an entirely too innocent smirk, thanking him as she took the pre offered cup.

"Just what I need, thanks Vince." She grinned at him. "Needs more sugar though."

His mouth went dry as she turned, opened one of the cupboards and reached up to grab the sugar bowl, her thin top riding up to expose several inches of flawless back. His red eyes greedily took in long slender legs as the sharp snap of the closing cupboard brought him to his senses. He quickly shut his open mouth, embarrassed that he'd almost been caught openly salivating at her creamy skin.

"Enjoying the view, Vince?" She grinned, a jolt of excitement ebbing its way through her body as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Are you trying to test me?" he murmured, as she set her mug down on the side and moved towards him, pressing herself against him.

"Well I was hoping for a repeat performance, actually." She whispered.

Gasping in surprise when he pushed her back against the counter, she opened her mouth to protest when his lips met hers urgently in a hungry kiss. One of his hands caressed the nape of her neck and the other pulled her hips closer.

"Vincent...we can't do this here." she whispered in a low murmur.

Pulling away slowly to explore the curve of her jaw, she felt the tug of his smile against her skin.

"Why not?" he growled, nuzzling against her neck.

She shot him a saucy look and her eyes darkened as Vincent struggled to focus on her face and instead found himself gazing distractedly at her chest, he felt himself harden as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra.

_Coquettish tease…_

Desperation surged through Vincent's body as he pulled Yuffie against him and crushed his lips to hers in a low growl, his breath coming out in ragged gasps as she almost ripped the shirt from his body and curled her legs round his hips tightly.

Gasping in surprise when he ground his hips against her roughly, she opened her mouth to protest when his lips met hers again. One of his hands caressed the nape of her neck and the other pulled her hips closer to his own Yuffie moaned into his kiss as his tongue sought entrance across her pliant lips.

Returning his efforts eagerly with her own, she broke apart from his lips briefly, gazing up at his foggy eyes before she grabbed the counter top behind her and hoisted herself up quickly to meet his level. Grabbing the front of his shirt, Yuffie grinned seductively and pulled him back to her, his hands pressed against her hips urgently for a brief moment before his fingers lifted her top to expose her taught stomach and the curve of her hips.

She vaguely registered almost hitting her head on the kettle as the gunman pushed her whole back against the counter and trailed kisses across her stomach, her lithe legs tightened against his hips and she could feel his eagerness for her pressing hard against her bare thighs. His long sheet of ebony hair tickled her taut stomach as his strong hands tugged her top up to just under her breasts. Sitting up on her elbows, Yuffie mewled loudly and arched her back as heated lips closed desperately over a peaked nipple through her top and the heat pooling itself in her abdomen burst into a roaring inferno; desperate to have more if what he was offering her.

A small hand reached up to grasp tightly at the long hair at the nape of his neck and the other reached to explore across his toned torso before dipping lower to play with the waistband of his trousers.

Feverish with desire, she murmured something against his lips as he lifted the camisole from her body and slung it carelessly somewhere near the fridge. His right hand grabbed her hips and smoothed teasingly over the soft, warm flesh; his left reaching to grab a handful of her messy hair to tug her naked torso against his. He felt his shirt being tugged from his broad shoulders and it too joined Yuffie's top on the floor.

Growling at her from her neck as she tugged the button loose and slipped a hand down the back of the trousers, she grabbed a cheeky feel of what most of the female population of Midgar privately agreed was the best ass in Gaia; he pulled away and rest his forehead against hers.

Vincent took a moment to appreciate the flushed cheeks, hazy eyes and disheveled hair of his companion and leaned in slowly to place a long lingering kiss on her swollen lips.

"I need to slow down before I am unable to stop myself." he murmured huskily against her lips. His voice did nothing to quell the fire that was currently threatening to jump the gunman and rip the rest of his clothing from his body and have her way with him.

The sensible voice in the back of her head told her that he was right, as much as the two of them were enjoying each other; a quick bout of frustrated sex in their kitchen wasn't the way she wanted to remember her first time with Vincent.

"Fine...but you owe me one for getting me all hot and bothered." she breathed, her cheeks still a deep red from arousal.

His eyes softened and his lips quirked into a dangerous smile that she very much didn't trust and he once again pressed a lingering kiss to her parted lips and slid his tongue against hers in a sweet torture that left her whimpering again.

It took her a few minutes to notice that his hands were tugging down the satin shorts at her hips and she gasped in surprise when she felt his long fingers press low on her hips, his thumb dangerously close to caressing her core.

Gasping in delight as his hot mouth eagerly took a peaked nipple into its warmth, her head lulled back and her eyes drifted closed.

As his tongue traced delicately across the pebbled skin, her fingers dug into his shoulders, her breath coming in shallow pants as his tongue delved across to the other nipple to lather equal attention upon it.

The keening groan that left her lips almost tested his resolve and he struggled with great difficulty to pull away and try to calm himself down.

It took a moment for the two would-be lovers to realize that the high pitched buzzer that sounded through the living area announced that there was someone at the door. It took them another few moments to look at one another in alarm and make a mad dash to find their clothes.

"_Shit_!" Yuffie hissed as she pushed a half naked Vincent out of the way in order to locate her top, which was artfully slung across the fridge and run put it on while Vincent went to answer the buzzer phone.

"W-who is it?" even the normally stoic man had a hard time keeping his voice level as he tried to ignore the sight of Yuffie running across the living room half naked while wrestling into her top.

"_Hi uncle Vincent!_"

Alarmed as he remembered that Yuffie had agreed to take Marlene for a few hours this evening while Cloud and Tifa went out for dinner, he suddenly realized his state of undress and the rather prominent tent in his trousers.

"...Please hold on a moment, Marlene."

Darting across the room as Yuffie re-emerged from her room, fully dressed in her normal shorts, top and boots combo; he looked at her in alarm.

"What am I supposed to do about…_this_?" he pointed to the problem and for a moment Yuffie looked surprised, and then coy as she raised an eyebrow.

"…_Well_…I've got a few suggestions on how to fix that problem Vince but since I don't fancy giving my favorite niece a floor show I suggest you go take care of it in the bathroom."

He simply blinked at her in astonishment.

"Besides…I'll make it up to you later."

And with a wink and a wave, she sauntered off to answer the door.

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**Hehe, sorry for that...wait no i'm not! Hope you enjoyed! See you next chapter.**


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